How To Make a Hexaflexagon: The Definitive Guide
Transcript So, back in the day we had to make our own fidget toys, and to make a hexaflexagon all you need is 30 seconds and a scrap of paper, if you know how. Which is probably why this is my number 1 most requested video. So, today I'm going to show you my hexaflexagon techniques. Now, the goal is to be able to create one instantly, any time, anywhere, without scissors, tape, or glue. But to build your hexaflexa skills, you can start with a printable pattern such as this one. The essence of a hexaflexagon is nine triangles in a twisty loop, and you can use 10 triangles if you glue the last to the first, or use nine if you're using tape. Having a pattern is helpful for folding perfect equilateral triangles, and also it's easier to fold the finished shape if you have your mountains and valleys in a row. Dotted lines are valley folds and dashed lines are mountain folds, and you can check that all your triangles are happy and accurate by folding them back and forth on top of each other and seeing that they all line up. The number one place people go wrong is when folding and taping the loop together, and here's where the mountain folds can help you do it right. It is of vital importance that the three flappy bits be symmetrically arranged all triangley-like. If you've got a flappy flap that goes all the way across the hexagon or two flappy bits right next to each other, just try again. Then finally, tape the first and last triangle together along the edge, or sometimes you'll get a case where you tape them across the side, or if you're using glue just flap that flap on over and glue that whole tenth triangle to the first triangle. Just try not to accidentally tape or glue together anything else. If your creases are strong they will guide you in the hexaflexagon's construction, and also in its use, where you pop out the center and pinch the sides together in a threefold way and open it up from the center. The great thing about hexaflexagons is that aside from their fidgetability, they also offer an opportunity for doodling, drawing, and decorating, and here's where this more robust fold-over design can help, especially if you have markers that bleed through your paper. It's also a great way to hide the template lines after you've made your creases. And once that's together you can color both sides however you want to, and also the third side however you want to. Okay, so once you have a feel for that, it'll be easier to do it without the pattern or scissors. The first trick is getting a nice even strip of paper, which you can do by folding the edge off a page and making sure the edge lines up on both sides, creasing firmly, and I like to crease back and forth a couple times so that it tears of without too much trouble. Now here's what some consider the hardest part: getting your first triangle, which means getting a perfect 60 degree angle. If you have any equilateral triangles around you can just copy off of them, but if not, here's what you do. First, fold your best guess, and crease only very lightly. Then fold along the edge and see if things line up. When they do line up you should be able to see the triangleyness of your folds. But they probably won't line up the first time, and so you adjust back and forth until it does. When you get a feel for it you should be able to do most of the adjusting while you're making your first creases. It just takes a little practice. You can also work on your triangle folding skills by using a pattern, but pretending there's no pattern. Okay, so the great thing about 60 degree angles is that once you've got one, they self replicate. You can keep folding along the lines and just try to keep it so that the edges line up and the corners line up as much as possible. And you only need 9 triangles, so remove the extra and you're ready to go. And going freehand, you might end up with the twisty loop connecting at the edge or in the middle, and it could be right-handed or left-handed, it's all good. A major pitfall for hexaflexagation it not getting enough triangles because your strip is too wide for its length. When you're decorating you might get that bleed-through problem again, but you can start with a doubled-over strip of paper and you're ready for arts. I'm gonna do leaves and flowers and roots, check it out. Ooo or you could put secret notes in the middle, so secret. If you have no paper or glue, you can keep the strip extra long and wrap it around extra, and if you flexigate with precision and control you can keep the ends from flapping out, or maybe it falls apart and you have to fold it back together. And then finally once you really get a feel for things, you can take any scrap of paper and turn it into a strip without needing to cut or tear, you just fold everything in. And you can even skip some of the triangley preparation and instead add the missing creases as you flex it the first few times. Anyway, those are my tricks, and if you want free patterns, they are at vihart.com/hexaflexagons, and if you want to share the joy of flexagation with random people you meet you can buy this shirt. Yes, I'm finally selling stuff, because I'm a full-time Vi Hart now. They're going to sell out, but if you manage to get one, please carry hexaflexagons with you when you wear it so that you can show the uninitiated if they ask. Or if you don't like talking to people it's also available as a plain classic v-neck curvy-cut shirt with the design on the back so that the person behind you can learn. And coolest of all there's a kid sized version with long sleeves and hexaflexafriends on the front and instructions on the back for whoever sits behind you in class. Or you could just teach them yourself. But the shirts are all 20% off for Black Friday all weekend, all in extended sizes, and yes, they will arrive in time for the holidays. But practice your hexaflexagon skills, because you will need them next month; stay tuned.